News

Reverse vending machines give Air Miles for recyclables

June 17, 2014

Schools in Muscat, Oman are to receive reverse vending machines (RVMs), according to the Oman Daily Observer.

The machines, which will be supplied by Averda, accept empty plastic bottles, cans, light bulbs and domestic batteries and in return reward recycling individuals with various prizes, details of which have not yet been announced.

According to the Oman Daily Observer, Beirut, Lebanon-based Averda will initially provide its RVMs in Muscat schools before rolling out the machines in other types of locations in Oman.

Averda provides waste collection, treatment, disposal and recycling across the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

Averda says that in 2013 its reverse vending machines retrieved over 1.2 million recyclables across the region, and that in the UAE alone, the machines collected 46,148 recyclables, 89 percent of which were plastic bottles. In the first quarter of 2014, RVMs in the UAE received more than 17,000 containers.

Averda launched its stand-alone RVMs in 2011, primarily as an interactive awareness-building tool. "The reverse vending machine was developed with a view to educating and inspiring individuals and organisations to take responsibility for the correct disposal of their waste, while being rewarded in the process,” Jeroen Vincent, Averda’s chief operating officer GCC (Gulf Cooperation  Council), said in a statement.

When an item is placed inside an RVM, the machine detects the item’s material and only accepts those that can be recycled. The bottles and cans amass inside the machine, and are later segregated manually.

To provide users with an incentive to use the RVMs, Averda has partnered with Air Miles, giving users two Air Miles for every one unit deposited into the machines. In the UAE, users were rewarded with close to 700,000 Air Miles during 2013, the company says.

An on-screen 'share' tool allows users to update their social networks with information on what and how much they have recycled, spreading the benefits of recycling.